KMT Chairman Lien Chan (連戰) yesterday called on former party comrades to "return to the family" and unite under the KMT banner to oppose the DPP in the Dec.1 elections.
"The KMT is an open-minded party. We happily welcome all comrades to return to their family," Lien said during a campaign rally for Hung Hsiu-chu (
Lien's remark was widely interpreted as an indirect response to New Party co-founder Yok Mu-ming's (郁慕明) recent proposal for regrouping the KMT, People First Party and New Party into a another party after the elections.
"Let's unite the family and fight it out with the DPP on Dec. 1," Lien added.
The PFP and New Party, both of which are splinter groups from the KMT, claim to be followers of Sun Yat-sen's (孫中山) doctrines. They enjoy broad support among voters of mainland Chinese origin, who tend to be pro-unification.
Since the KMT expelled its pro-independence former chairman Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) it has been trying to restore support in this voter group to improve its chances of remaining the largest party in the legislature after the elections.
Lien said the voters would have to choose whether the "hard life" imposed by the DPP upon the people would come to an end.
Over the past 18 months of DPP rule, the country's unemployment rate, debts, suicide rate and crime rates have risen, while the economic growth rate, investment and people's incomes have nosedived, Lien said.
Under these circumstances, he said, the choice is "clear and simple," as the KMT is the party that created the Taiwan miracle in which the country's economy grew an average 8.1 percent a year.
"When choosing the KMT, we must unite and muster all our strength. Not a single vote can be wasted," Lien said.
The KMT was obliged to "restore order" to society, he continued, when some people were splitting the country along ethnic lines to "cheat votes out of the people for political interests."
Despite the rivalry between the KMT and DPP in the elections, a poll released yesterday showed that the percentage of people supporting a post-election KMT-DPP coalition was higher than that supporting a coalition of the KMT, PFP and New Party.
While 25.5 percent of respondents believed a KMT-DPP coalition would bring political stability, only 17.9 percent believed a KMT-PFP-New Party alliance would do the same.
The poll was conducted on Nov. 15 and Nov. 16 by Decision Making Research who interviewed 803 people. Among KMT supporters, 26.5 percent supported the idea of a KMT-DPP coalition, and another 21.6 percent said they preferred a "pan-blue" coalition.
On the role of the KMT, 43.3 percent thought the KMT should cooperate with the government, compared with 39.1 percent who thought the KMT should act as an opposition party.
KMT legislator Chen Horng-chi (
They urged the DPP to stop its mud-slinging campaign against the KMT to pave the way for post-election reconciliation.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS